COVID-19 and the Illicit Market: Did the Pandemic Accelerate or Disrupt Global Drug Trafficking?

• In Event: Global Drug Markets, Trafficking Patterns, and Organized Crime

Abstract

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resultant lockdowns employed and the border closures in many countries have undoubtedly changed the activities of the global illicit drug market. Given this hypothesized shift, the present study utilizes Cloward and Ohlin's opportunity theory of crime (1960) to examine changes in illicit market activities across several countries, as measured by law enforcement drug seizures four years pre-pandemic (2016 to 2019) and post-pandemic (2021 to 2024). Utilizing data from the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, the COVID-19 Policy Tracker Database, and the World Development Indicator, we anticipate that our findings will underscore that the multiplier effects of the pandemic-induced lockdowns impacted the global illicit drug market. Implications for policy and avenues for future research will also be discussed.

Authors

• Courtney Waid, Auburn University at Montgomery

• Ali Shodunke, The Pennsylvania State University

• Qassim Bolaji, Auburn University at Montgomery

• Don Soo Chon, Auburn University at Montgomery

• Jacqueline Ann McNett, Auburn University at Montgomery